I mentioned in my last post that while at the cabin last week, I found fungus and mushrooms growing there like I have never seen before. No doubt, it is due to the extremely wet summer we had this year. I had fun taking pictures (as you will see).

It amazed me to discover so many varieties of mushrooms...like this giant one...

...it barely fit in my hand.

And then there was the miniature world hidden under the grasses with mushrooms smaller than the tip of my finger.

What made all this mushroom discovery even more fascinating was that I got to meet another blog friend...and not just any blog friend, but the one who has really opened my eyes to the magical world of mushrooms. Lisa does not live too far from my cabin and was willing to drive with her children to my place so we could meet...in real life. And in those short minutes we spent as we walked through the woods I learned more about these wonderful fungi than I have known in my whole life. She rattled off their names and whether or not they were edible, and where to look for them, and how they grow. All of her children are very mushroom saavy and even her smallest child spotted the black mushrooms that I went back, in vain, to try and find. It was a glorious afternoon talking on the dock while all the kids splashed in the water, or went in the boat, or on the swing, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this marvelously talented woman.

Lisa talked about making spore prints, which was something completely new to me but that I just had to try. She recommended using these mushrooms...lobster mushrooms? I can't remember...

Her instructions were to pull out the stems and lay them face down on a piece of paper with a wet towel covering them.

My boys and I returned last night from a magical six days at our cabin. Once again, we traveled there with our dear friends, Anna and her two kids. It was the perfect way to wrap up summer before school starts on Monday.

Anna and I decided before we got there to establish a rhythm to our day which included a daily walk right after breakfast, and quiet reading time immediately following lunch. It was great to be in sync with this from the beginning as it made it easier for the children to slide into this routine.

We walked to "the point", the end of our property where the mouth of the river is, through the woods, through fields and along the dirt road. Each time we saw something new.

Found remnants in the woods of the farmer from whom we bought this property when I was a little girl. With it being an extremely wet summer, there were fungus and mushrooms everywhere! (More on that later).

We gathered some treasures to bring to the preschool.

And I got to get out daily on the kayak...

(thanks Sistah!)

...where I peacefully enjoyed the flowers.

It's so good to be with friends...

...and play and relax and swing and go fishing...

And while I fear sometimes that we may be losing the place to mother nature...

...a bench

...the stairs

...the roof

...and the dock.

There is still something truly magical about coming to this place that my dad built.

I discovered this unfinished cross stitch while organizing my craft supplies. I think I started it over ten years ago! Can't even seem to recall what I had in mind for it. Maybe I'll pick it up again...if I can just find a needle...

The tile in the basement project was completely in place by the beginning of August.

I love the emptiness of this space and want to savor it just a little while longer. It's nice to walk the floor and think about how we want this room to look, where we will begin to place furniture, etc. I'm happy to take my time with it, to set it up little-by-little to ensure everything has it's own place.

We are so happy with how it turned out...

...but what to do with that gold carpet on the stairs? (Home projects...they never end, do they?)

We finished off the last day of sea creatures camp making these adorable shell crabs.

The kids got busy painting right after they chose a shell for the body and two for the claws.

With a hot glue gun I attached all the parts...first I glued shells to each end of a four-inch piece of red pipe cleaner, then added that plus four three-inch lengths of red wool yarn for the legs to the underside of the shell body. Once that dried, I added the two googly eyes to the face.

We have been having fun at camp this week singing silly songs, reading fun books and moving like a variety of different sea creatures. Our mornings are spent outside in the yard where we have built an obstacle course. We have discovered it is more difficult to pass through the tunnel like a crab (walking sideways with our hands moving in a pincer-like fashion) than an eel.

We learned some fun facts about starfish, read a poem about the importance of keeping them in the ocean, and even had a dried one to pass around to get a closer look. We felt the rough texture, talked about how they move and counted each of the five arms.

Using two grades of sandpaper, I cut out four starfish shapes and secured them to the table with tape.

Using the flat side of a crayon and a piece of paper, each child had a turn making their starfish rubbing.

Leo Lionni's book, Swimmy, was the inspiration for our first project at Sea Creatures camp this week. Day one we started with water color painting our ocean. We used beeswax resist to create the white texture in the sea of blue.

We also group painted a piece of watercolor paper red....everyone got a turn to use the wax to make dots or stripes or squiggles on the paper before painting and once dry, I cut out little fish free-hand.

Day two, we added sand for the ocean floor, a few shells, and seaweed...I already found a use for my new wool! By gently twisting one end of a small bit of pine green wool roving (a great fine-motor skill to practice), and then gluing the bottom into place, the top of the wool remains loose and has a bit a movement like the real plant might. Next the fish were glued into place...and finally a bit of glitter to give the water some shimmer.

A giant surprise was waiting for me when I got home from my preschool today. The card read..."For you to use with the children at Willow House". My dear friend Jen is good at throwing happiness my way. This wool will go a long way and I am ever grateful for her generosity. (Thank you Jen!)

I boiled beets for dinner shortly after reading Lisa's post on dyeing with black beans, and before tossing the thick red water out, I thought...why not? I had some white silk left over from my preschool dyeing project, so torn a piece off, pushed it into a jar, poured the beet juice on top of it, added salt for good measure, sealed the jar and set it on my windowsill.

The next day, with great anticipation, I rinsed the water out of the silk and was quite surprised at the result...pale pink? I don't know why I expected something deeper...perhaps because when I peel beets, the juice always stains my hands a deep crimson. Then I spotted the (almost empty) bottle of red wine. Again...why not? Another piece of silk gets pushed into the jar, wine (Malbec) and salt added, and back to the windowsill. This time when I rinsed it out the next day, I got the deeper red I was expecting with the beets. Both shades are quite beautiful.

Wanting to play with the silk I cut quarter inch slices into the ends and tore off several strips of each color to get this nice batch of silk ribbon.

And now...I'm playing.

Not sure where I will go with this but it sure has been a fun experiment.

There are so many challenges I face in owning and operating my own preschool. I often question how I can keep it all going.

It involves running a second household and with that...

...a second lawn to mow, garden to keep, sidewalks to shovel, gutters to repair, utilities to pay, recycling, cleaning, shopping and maintenance....

There are yearly legal requirements of my license to keep updated...

...the actual relicensing (a stressful time this year as our state government shut down in July and the trickle-down effect almost cost our case worker her job which would have in turn left us with an expired license), there are classes to take, two kinds of insurance to keep, taxes to pay, training in CPR, First Aid and epi-pen use, fire extinguisher to update, business ID form to re-register, building inspection and lots of paperwork to file...

There are families to communicate with...

...first is registration, then monthly letters and billing statements, festivals to plan, tuition to collect and deposit, parent gatherings to plan...

It feels like I can never stay on top of all that needs doing, so I often ask myself...is it all worth it?

And then I get an email from one of the dads...

Kristin,

Thank you for everything you do. (My son) had so much fun this week... "(I'm) very sad. I don't want Spanish camp to be over. I have so much fun with my friends and Kristin has so much to teach me. She knows A LOT of Spanish words and she can tell me more." ...

My little boy thinks the world of you, Kristin, and he is a better human being because you are in his life.

You rock, generally speaking.

My heart swells and my eyes fill with tears and I am smiling from ear-to-ear and I look back at some photographs and it is so easy to remember why I'll face any of the above challenges... because I am truly blessed to be a part of each and every one of these children's lives.